Helen Clifton | Journalisthttp://helenclifton.com
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 15:41:43 +0000en-UShourly1Manchester one lovehttp://helenclifton.com/blog/manchester-one-love/
http://helenclifton.com/blog/manchester-one-love/#commentsThu, 15 Jun 2017 15:21:50 +0000http://helenclifton.foliosites.co.uk/?p=2308When a major disaster like the Manchester attacks happen, freelance journalists get phone calls from people they have never worked for before.

]]>http://helenclifton.com/uncategorized/well-versed/feed/0fashion forwardhttp://helenclifton.com/blog/2280/
http://helenclifton.com/blog/2280/#commentsThu, 08 Oct 2015 21:38:31 +0000http://helenclifton.foliosites.co.uk/?p=2280It’s really fantastic to see that GMB have launched a dedicated campaign to get workers to start demanding decent conditions and pay at the ASOS warehouse in Barnsley.

]]>http://helenclifton.com/blog/2280/feed/0charity begins at homehttp://helenclifton.com/blog/charity-begins-at-home/
http://helenclifton.com/blog/charity-begins-at-home/#commentsThu, 08 Oct 2015 21:09:21 +0000http://helenclifton.foliosites.co.uk/?p=2271Always great to work with Smoke Creatives on Here, the Shelter supporter mag.

They sent me to one of Shelter’s furniture shops in Birmingham. I was delighted to discover that six members of the same family – over three generations – work and volunteer in the shop, reflecting the dedication that Shelter inspires.

]]>http://helenclifton.com/blog/charity-begins-at-home/feed/0journey of faithhttp://helenclifton.com/blog/journey-of-faith/
http://helenclifton.com/blog/journey-of-faith/#commentsThu, 08 Oct 2015 20:21:59 +0000http://helenclifton.foliosites.co.uk/?p=2262I’ve recently returned from the Greek/ Macedonian border, where I was documenting the refugee and migrant crisis.

I was travelling with a delegation of senior UK church leaders, part of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.

What I will always remember from the trip was the woman in the centre of this picture, Diana.

Amid the squalor and the rubbish, this neat and self-composed young woman stood out.

With her Mango handbag and carton of juice, she looked like she was going shopping, instead of enduring a long, dangerous and uncertain journey across an unwelcoming Europe.

Diana is a lawyer. She told me that she was traveling to Germany with her mother Majida because their house in Damascus had been destroyed and they had nowhere to live.

They were desperate, but very dignified. I think my questions irritated her; I sensed did not want to be treated with pity, or curiosity. She did not want to dwell on her circumstances. She wasn’t interested in talking to me.

She just wanted to get the journey finished so she could continue with her life.

]]>http://helenclifton.com/blog/journey-of-faith/feed/0I have a voicehttp://helenclifton.com/blog/i-have-a-voice/
http://helenclifton.com/blog/i-have-a-voice/#commentsMon, 10 Aug 2015 13:27:24 +0000http://helenclifton.foliosites.co.uk/?p=2249It was a privilege to interview Sarah Wilson, a survivor of the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal who has waived her anonymity to speak out about her experiences.

]]>http://helenclifton.com/blog/i-have-a-voice/feed/0socially housedhttp://helenclifton.com/blog/socially-housed/
http://helenclifton.com/blog/socially-housed/#commentsMon, 10 Aug 2015 12:34:49 +0000http://helenclifton.foliosites.co.uk/?p=2245I’ve been a busy bee working with Inside Housing, writing a couple of supplements – the first about procurement, the second off-site construction…..

I also covered the Chartered Institute of Housing annual conference, writing features about both the Social Value Act and the ways in which the housing sector uses social media.

Lots of updates due……latest piece for Waterfront, the Canal & River Trust mag, was a lovely day spent with Birmingham photographer Andrew Jackson asking the good people of the Midlands why they love their canals.

]]>http://helenclifton.com/blog/urban-stretch/feed/0locks and lime mortarhttp://helenclifton.com/blog/locks-and-lime-mortar/
http://helenclifton.com/blog/locks-and-lime-mortar/#commentsTue, 24 Mar 2015 15:47:09 +0000http://helenclifton.foliosites.co.uk/?p=2235The result of a lovely day spent with Anna Moore, heritage skills apprentice with the Canal & River Trust.

The piece was used for the Trust’s Waterfront magazine and website.

Never has restoration been quite so fashionable.

]]>http://helenclifton.com/blog/locks-and-lime-mortar/feed/0riots updatehttp://helenclifton.com/blog/riots-update/
http://helenclifton.com/blog/riots-update/#commentsTue, 03 Mar 2015 15:04:57 +0000http://helenclifton.foliosites.co.uk/?p=2227During my time covering the riots of 2011 for the Guardian’s Reading the Riots project, I was tasked with interviewing defence lawyers for their views about the harsh sentences handed out to rioters.

All of them expressed concern about the length and manner in which sentences were handed out; the fact bail was routinely refused; and that magistrates seemed to be playing to the press gallery, making examples of individual defendants to score political points.

There were high profile critics of sentences at the time. Leading criminal barrister John Cooper QC said they were ‘over the top’, while former chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Paul Mendelle QC, said sentences were too long and harsh.

Yet politicians justified them, saying that the circumstances were extraordinary – and that rioters needed to ‘understand the consequences’ of their actions.

A recent report from Manchester University, however, confirms the view of those I interviewed at the time as well as critics of the courts’ approach.

By analysing data, they have shown that the sentences were ‘excessive and arbitrary’ – and say the justice system acted like ‘Judge Dredd’

My report for the Big issue in the North is below. Read a version for Equal Times here.